Recommended Posts

Just read the Bygones page evening post Tusday May 5th.

Joy James has written a book about St Ann's which most of us older one from St Ann's know about.

In the evening post it is stated that much of our staple diet was stale bread soaked in warm tea or condensed milk watered down from a boiling kettle and shoved into the coal fire, which her dad called tea pods. Now I don't know how old Joy James is but she also say's about the latter years of the second world war recalling keeping coats on in the class room and stuffed newspaper into plimsolls to keep snow and ice out. My brother was born in 1939 and he can't remember any of this as he was to young.

I was born in St Ann's and did not leave the area till 1969. Yes! the houses were not that good but I feel she is painting a darker picture of the life we had, we had good friends and neighbour's. Also there was always food on the table each night we had a hot dinner, apart from Friday when we had a fry-up Saturday we had cooked ham and salad.

Both my mum and dad went to work although mum only worked part time. Also my grandma and granddad aunties uncle's lived in St Ann's but I never went to there house's for tea and had stale bread.

I don't think Joy James lived in St Ann's all her life.

So why make it blacker than it was.

As far as I know all my friends had happy childhoods and their mums put real food on the table, most of our dads had a garden, so most of us got out five a day.

I am not saying Joy James is wrong but lets look at it from everyone's point of view!

  • Upvote 3
Link to post
Share on other sites

sounds interesting though mary. I.m a carlton man but worked with a few people down st. anns well road I remember a chap named ? bowen

and another chap Harry stone what a lovely man to work with. Happy memories of st anns well road. Sad when they nocked it down didn't most of them move to Clifton?

Link to post
Share on other sites

Joy James is after all trying to sell her book !

I know her family very well & can relate with a lot of what she has written, times were hard, perhaps different family situation to yours ?

I know for a fact that her mother was a very hard working mother who had her work cut out bringing up a large family in that era.

Life was certainly not a bed of roses for her family, that I know.

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

I grew up in St Ann's and although it was known as one specific area of Nottingham, there was still a mixed community within it with a cross section of population albeit all working class, with housing stock ranging from decent to downright atrocious!

Link to post
Share on other sites

Joy is also a member of this site, although I haven't seen her post in a while.

I don't know Joy, but I was raised just around the corner from her, in one of the terraced house off Turner Street, and we always had food on the table, Sunday mornings was egg bacon, and sausage for breakfast, we always had meat a few times a week, then there was chips from the chippy corner of Moffat street, with either fish, pies or faggots once a week.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Joy probably had different childhood to many. If you read both of her books you will find them quite funny.

  • Upvote 1
Link to post
Share on other sites

My mum was brought up in St Annes, before she married, on Corporation road, gran was an alcoholic and a single parent and my mum and her two older brothers never knew their dad, and did it tough.

Any spare cash went to the pubs, so maybe Joy is not painting such a glum story after all.

My mums upbringing had a very profound effect on her later life, and she suffered severely with depression, just before she died even more harrowing stories emerged from her childhood I never knew about.

Not everyone had it good in those good ole days.

Just the other side of the coin.

Link to post
Share on other sites
  • 8 months later...

Mavisbaker, Welcome to Nottstalgia. I have been visiting your St Annswell road site for quite a while; and really enjoy the peoples stories.. I have found the names of friends mentioned by my mum from her younger years whilst living in St Anns,

You can see what a great site Nottstalgia is; and why so many of us are so addicted to it. I hope you and your members join us and enjoy sharing your memories with us.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Welcome to the Forum Mavis, your website has been flagged up here before and it is a great resource especially for us old St Annsians. I hope you find this site just as absorbing and start posting your memories on here.

Link to post
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...